About The Constellation Cepheus
Husband Of Cassiopeia
Father Of Andromeda

The constellation Cepheus is known as a circumpolar constellation.

This means that it's located near the celestial pole and visible all year round. At least in the northern hemisphere.

Cepheus is king of the mythical land of Ethiopia, not the African country of the same name.

Married to vain, boastful, Queen Cassiopeia , and father of the beautiful Princess Andromeda.

Cassiopeia's claims of being the greastest beauty angered the sea-nymphs.

The God Poseidon sent a sea monster to destroy her kingdom and its people.

King Cepheus consulted the wise Oracle and was told the only way to save his land and subjects was to sacrifice his daughter Andromeda.

Andromeda was chained to a rock near the coast and left for the monster Cetus.

As luck would have it though, Perseus was passing by having slain the Gorgon Medusa.

Perseus was able to rescue Andromeda and later become her husband.

Finding The Kingdom Of Constellation Cepheus

Position in the sky:

Right Ascension: 22 hours

Declination: 70 degrees

Visible between latitudes 90 and -10 degrees

Best seen in October (at 9:00 PM)

named stars: Alderamin(Alpha Cep),Alfirk(Beta Cep) ,Alrai(Gamma Cep),Herschel's "garnet star" (Mu Cep), Alkurhah (Xi Cep) ,Al kalb al rai (Rho 2 Cep)

Although Cepheus is not a very bright constellation, it is located in a rather empty part of the sky near the North Pole, so it is not too difficult to find.

Adjoining Ursa Minor and Camelopardalis. Cepheus is further bordered by his queen, the vain Cassiopeia, and Draco, the dragon constellation. Cygnus and Lacerta are immediately underneath Cepheus.

Kappa, omicron and pi Cephei are triple star systems.

Nu Cephei has the common name Cor Regis which is Latin for 'heart of the king'. At 5th magnitude it's hard to spot with the naked eye but is a visual treat in binoculars.

There are three red supergiants in the constellation that are visible to the naked eye.

NGC 188 is an open cluster that has the distinction of being the closest open cluster to the north celestial pole. as well as one of the oldest known open clusters.

The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) is a spiral galaxy in which nine supernovae have been observed, more than in any other galaxy.

The nebula NGC 7538 is home to the largest yet discovered protostar.

Delta Cephei,is a prototype for what are now called Cepheid variable stars. The study of stars such as these helps astronomers determine distance.

On the scale of largest-known stars, Cepheus boasts three in the top five!

Mu Cephei is known as Herschel's Garnet Star. It is a red supergiant and one of the largest stars known to us. Only four more stars are larger than mu Cephei, and two of those are in the same constellation: VV Cephei A and V354 Cephei.

V354 Cephei is the third-largest star known; if it existed in our solar system, its girth at 7AU (astronomical units) would reach from the position of the Sun to beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

VV Cephei A is the big daddy, though; at almost 2,000 times the mass of our Sun, it is the biggest star ever measured (it would swallow up Saturn).

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